Interest in genealogical research has grown tremendously over the last century and has become a popular hobby among all age groups. Much of the excitement surrounding genealogy stems from a researcher's ability to study the various relationships within their family trees—to see who they are related to and how. When a researcher discovers that they are in some way related to another individual, it is common for the researcher to desire to understand the exact nature of that relationship.
Genealogical records often include relationship information that identifies how records and sub-records are related or connected. These records may include other information as well, such as date of birth, date of death, date of marriage, city and/or state of residence, spouse information, children information, etc. However, only a limited amount of this information may be displayed on a touch-screen device at one time
It is often desired and/or important to visually display how genealogical records and/or sub-records are linked or related (i.e., display the connections between records). For example, it may be helpful to display an individual's ancestors so that users can visually determine how the individual is connected or interconnected with other individuals in a genealogical chart. Showing the connectedness of other records may likewise be important, such as the connection between different types of family relationships, such as sibling, parent, child, cousin, etc. Because of the usefulness of such displays, there is a need in the art for improved ways to display and navigate genealogical records.